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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Increasing Government Efficiency & Effectiveness

As we conclude 2012 and head in 2013, The
City continues to look for ways to become more efficient and effective in
delivering services to Calgarians. The recent budget adjustments were the
latest milestone as we move through the current three-year business cycle. Overall, the 2012-2014 business plans and
budget includes significant productivity savings of $45 million, which all
Departments share in achieving. Thanks to the efforts of staff across the
organization these savings were identified and are playing a key role in
helping Departments and Business Units meet their targets.

The Corporate Strategy for Efficiency and
Effectiveness is one of a number of initiatives underway at The City to
transform government. The strategy includes a number of elements related to
business planning, budgeting, performance benchmarking, measurement, and reporting.
It also includes both zero-based reviews and self-initiated reviews by
departments and business units.

The Zero Based Review Program is a
significant and new component of the strategy which will begin in Parks, Roads,
Water Services and Fire over 2013-2014. Zero-based reviews build upon the
fundamental premise of zero-based budgeting in that they examine services or
functions from a ‘zero-base’. However, rather than focusing solely on budget,
zero-based reviews examine all aspects of the business under review, to ensure
that every dollar is used well, in creating the city that Calgarians have said
they want to live in.

Outside
of the Zero-Based Review Program, a number of business units are undertaking
self-initiated improvement activities. A
sample of areas where these activities are being undertaken to support the
overall corporate strategy for service efficiency and effectiveness include,
but are not limited to:

Next City: Transforming Planning -
a system rethink intended to improve planning and development services at The
City. Part of this effort includes exploring productive collaboration among a
representative group of diverse executive stakeholders (both internal and
external to The City) to identify challenges in the current planning system and
addressing those challenges.

RouteAhead: A Strategic Plan for Transit
- the development of a new long-term plan for Calgary Transit, including
capital priorities and a new overall network using the vision of the Calgary
Transportation Plan (CTP). This
initiative will establish a clear vision for the next 30-years and identify
what needs to happen to accomplish this vision.

Collection Services Review
- a review of Waste and Recycling Services delivery methods for recycling and
waste collections programs (blue and black carts) including the potential for
green carts, pending Council’s decision on a city-wide organics diversion
program. Potential for private sector
involvement and a decision on the extension of Waste and Recycling Services
blue cart collection contract will be presented for Council’s consideration in
early 2014.

A comprehensive report on Administration’s activities to continually improve
service efficiency and effectiveness will be provided to Council through the
2012 Year-End Accountability Report on Business Plans and Budgets in March of
2013.